The Mortal Devices
by StuckInMyDreams
Summary: The New York Shadowhunters accidentally travel back in time to 1878 London. There they help our favorite London Shadowhunters take on the Magister. Set after CoHF and during CP2.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hi guys! My name is Natalie. I am a huge fan of TMI and TID (as well as any other Shadowhunter books that come out!) and keep wondering what would happen if the characters of TMI met their ancestors. There are a lot of fanfics like these, but few are well written (though mine might be horrible as well) and even fewer are completed. Hopefully, I'll remedy these issues (…hopefully…) If you have any suggestions, comments, concerns, plot holes, etc. please point them out to me! I cannot say I can update regularly as junior year (11****th**** grade for all you non-USA folks) is upon me! Thank you lovelies!**

**This is set after CoHF (before the epilogue, but including some things that are in the epilogue, I'm not sure; call it artistic liberties) and during CP2 **

**London, 1878**

The London Shadowhunters were gathered in a circle in the drawing room, with all eyes on Gabriel Lightwood. He was covered in blood and ranting about how he needed to speak with his brother immediately. Tessa, in her golden wedding dress, couldn't imagine how Gabriel had managed to bleed that much, if all of it was his of course. Jem, standing next to her, interlaced his pinky with hers. It had become commonplace for them; Tessa often found herself extending her fingers in order to wrap them around Jem's. Ever since their first kiss, Tessa couldn't help but feel the spark that shook through her when they touched. She gravitated towards it like a moth to flame. Will, on the other hand, emitted waves of despair and hatred and seldom looked her way.

As Gideon attempted to calm his frantic brother, who was screaming about Benedict Lightwood being a worm, Tessa could swear she heard noises emanating from the ceiling above her. An odd swirling sound seemed to come from the bricks. She could hear Will's demon pox jokes and Jem's calm reasoning in the periphery but the focus of her senses was on a spot in the stone that seemed to swirl and grow larger with each passing second. As the sound grew louder, the urgent voices of the Lightwood brothers quieted and all residents of the Institute looked towards the source of the sound.

**New York, 2008**

Clary, Jace, Alec, and Isabelle sat in the Institute's library. Even after surviving two major wars, travelling to hell and back, and defeating the greatest evil this side of the 19th century, all before they turned 20, the New York Shadowhunters were bored. There had been little demon attacks since Jonathan's death. Things were rather quiet. Maryse and the other 'adults', including Jocelyn and Luke, were in Alicante for a Council meeting. Alec had volunteered to stay behind to oversee the Institute.

Currently, Alec, in one of his oversized sweaters, was biting his nails and pacing. His parabatai, on the other hand, was eerily still: twisting his fingers through Clary's, who sat on his lap. Isabelle was half-asleep in one of the armchairs.

"We need to do something," Alec said, "I can't just stay here pacing all day. I'll go mad."

"I assume we could read some of the forbidden books, on the top shelves. The ones Hodge never let us read," Jace suggested.

Alec shrugged and walked to the ladder that allowed him to reach the top shelves. "Hey Jace, there's one up here about demon pox."

Jace's eyes lit up. "Demon pox, oh demon pox," he began singing a tune reminiscent of a children's song, "just how is it aquire-"

"Jace, do you have to act like an idiot all of the time or do you reserve that just for our company?" Isabelle deadpanned.

"I feel that acting in any other way around others would just be hypocritical and rude Izzy. I don't like to discriminate." Jace flashed his earth-shattering grin and Clary wondered what she had done in a previous life to deserve the atomic-bomb of boyfriends.

"Do you want the demon pox book or not? If not, I'm coming down; it smells like mold up here." Alec called from the ladder.

"Go ahead Alec, I feel that everyone would benefit from a lesson on demon pox," Jace drawled looking straight at Isabelle. Alec dropped the book from the ladder, expecting Jace to catch it. Jace didn't notice the book falling until it hit the ground, opening to a random page inscribed with runes.

The runes' very being whispering words of travel, dimensions, lifetimes, and worlds. Alec came down the ladder just as the runes began glowing, a hollow sucking sound coming from the book. In an instant, the book had become a swirling black hole, drawing everything into it. A wind whipped around the Shadowhunters. Jace gripped Clary's hand as they were drawn into the Portal.

**London, 1878**

As the London Shadowhunters gazed at the swirling vortex, new sounds emerged. Sounds of people.

"Ow, Jace"

"Izzy, that's my foot!"

"Clary, don't let go"

"I swear on the Angel Jace, if you land on me…"

And then 4 human bodies fell through the hole in the ceiling. Only the golden-haired boy managed to land on his feet, his hand tightly holding the redhead's.

Both groups of Shadowhunters stood silent, staring at each other. Tessa noticed that the girls were in rather…inappropriate clothing. The redheaded girl had on tight pants with a stele tucked into the waistband, splattered with paint, and a blouse that only covered her torso and top of her shoulders. The black-haired girl wore a loose silver dress that was short enough that her heavily Marked legs were visible. Finally, Charlotte broke the silence.

"Who are you?"

**AN: I know this chapter is short and cheesy. It's hard to explain time-traveling in a world that doesn't really set any laws for it. I do have an outline set up for this, so I do have an idea for how I want this to go. Hopefully it will follow to CP2 plotline, with a few minor changes to include the TMI group. I was planning on the TID Shadowhunters knowing that the TMI group are Lightwoods, Herondales, and Fairchilds, but not knowing who is whose descendant. (For example, Gabriel and Gideon don't know who Alec and Izzy are descendants of and Charlotte and Henry don't know if Clary is theirs or maybe one of Charlotte's cousins.) I'm also planning on name dropping Emma Carstairs, so that Jem and Will don't know who Tessa marries (I'm assuming that there are more Herondale males outside of Will). **

**Thank you for reading this, the second chapter should be up soon!**

**You can find me on Archive of Our Own at the same username (StuckInMyDreams).**

**Feel free to message me!**


	2. Introductions

**AN: Not my characters. All rights go to Cassie Clare and her publisher.**

"Who are you?" The dark haired woman asked. She was obviously pregnant. Her deep brown eyes searched their faces, looking for some form of recognition.

The New York Shadowhunters looked around. Clary, Izzy, and Jace all looked at Alec.

"You're the oldest," Izzy said, shoving her brother forward. He gave her a look of stern disappointment.

"I am-, "He began.

"Full name please," The woman interrupted.

"I am," Alec took a deep breath, steeling himself for whatever came next, "Alexander Gideon Lightwood." A collective gasp went through the crowd among him.

"A Lightwood, eh?" A bloodstained boy with light brown hair chuckled. "Don't look like much of a Lightwood to me." Alec just smiled and shrugged.

"I'm his sister," Isabelle stepped forward, "Isabelle Sophia Lightwood."

The silver-haired boy whispered to the girl next to him. She was wearing a golden wedding dress.

Clary took a deep breath to introduce herself next. "My name is Clarissa Adele Fairchild." The brunette woman and the redheaded man next to her exchanged glances.

"And now you, golden-boy," said the boy who looked suspiciously like Alec drawled, he had an accent, though Clary couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly. Jace just smirked, challenging the boy.

"Golden-boy, I've never heard that one before," He said sarcastically, "Personally, I'm not much of a fan of it. It doesn't give much credit to my stunning good looks or my wonderfully outgoing personality. Though, what can you do when-"

"Jace," Clary interrupted, "shut up and tell them who you are." The black-haired boy's eyes had lit up at Jace's confrontation, like he was ready for a battle of arrogance and sarcasm.

"I am Jonathan Christopher, though I prefer Jace, Herondale." The Alec doppelgänger's eyes widened and the silvery boy looked startled.

"Now that we've introduced ourselves, who are you? And where are we?" Isabelle asked.

"I think a better question is _when_ are we?" Jace interjected. "Due to the clothing that these Shadowhunters are wearing I think it's a safe bet to say that we aren't in the twenty first century anymore."

"Twenty first century," the Alec-like boy chuckled, "I'd say not. It is 1878. You are in the London Institute."

"I've always wanted to see London," Clary said sheepishly, trying to diffuse the tense situation. Somehow that stupid demon pox book had brought them back in time.

"Well, who are you? Seems like we might be stuck here for a while and I'd like to know who I'll be seeing every morning," Alec said. When he was flustered he got snippy.

The pregnant woman cleared her throat, "My name is Charlotte Branwell, formerly Fairchild, and I am head of this Institute, and this is my husband," she gestured to the redheaded man who was curiously eying Jace's sensor, "Henry Branwell." Clary recognized the name from the Codex, he had invented Portaling and the sensor. She felt that it wasn't the best moment to bring up those two facts.

"I am James Carstairs, but please call me Jem," The silver boy said. He was silver from head to toe Clary noticed. His hair and eyes were the same color. His skin gave a faintly silver tint, as if you could see straight through it. _Demon poisons_, her mind supplied, _just like Jonathan._

The brown-haired woman in the wedding dress spoke next. "My name is Theresa Gray, though I would prefer if you called me Tessa."

"Are you a mundane? Or an Ascendant?" Jace asked, "I don't see any Marks so you're not a Shadowhunter." His tone, to anyone outside of the New York Institute, would seem to be differential, but Clary realized Jace's peculiar form of intrigue. The Londoners glanced at Tessa, as if asking her permission to explain. She merely nodded.

"I am neither Mundane nor Ascendant. I am a warlock, though I do not possess a Warlock's Mark," She explained, "Hopefully our unorthodox marriage does not cause you any unwanted stress." Jace chuckled internally; she had the same stubbornness that he loved about Clary. It was a fierce determination to prove that you could do things for yourself and that you needed no help from others.

"I don't think that is a problem. My brother here," she patted Alec on the arm, who shot her a warning look.

"Izzy, don't." He said.

"Well, he's dating a warlock as well," Isabelle finished. _I'm not going to spill your secret big brother_ her eyes said.

Their glance did not go unnoticed by Alec's doppelganger, Jace observed.

The bloodstained boy let out a huff, "I guess if we must introduce ourselves, I will take my turn. My name is Gabriel Benedict Lightwood. And this is my brother-"

The sandy-blond next to him interrupted him, "I am perfectly capable of introducing myself Gabriel," he huffed, "My name is Gideon Arthur Lightwood." His green eyes trained on Jace, who was having a staring contest with the black-haired boy. Neither of them was going to back down or, in this case, blink. They were behaving like children, though both were almost adult men. Jem was shooting dissatisfied looks at the blue-eyed boy while Alec looked about two seconds away from seizing the nearest available book and whacking Jace on the head with it.

The girl who must have been the sister of the black-haired, blue-eyed boy decided it was her turn next. "My name is Cecily Alice Herondale and this is my brother-"

"William Owen Herondale." He finished. Jace drew in a breath, this was his ancestor. Alec looked murderous. Only Isabelle's hand, tightening on his wrist, was able to stop him from lunging at Will. His clearly audible growl and accompanying scowl were instantly picked up by Charlotte.

"Mr. Lightwood, is there a problem between Will and yourself? I do not believe we have ever seen you in London before," she asked. The rest of the London Shadowhunters, as well as Tessa, seemed shocked by Alec's outburst. Gabriel, however, seemed to be chuckling to himself.

Isabelle stepped in, "No, my brother has just heard many stories about William Herondale. It is nothing of importance." She tried to take on the same formal inflection to her tone that the other Shadowhunters were using. It must have been the time period, the only people she knew of that were this polite were vampires. The thought of vampires led her mind into memories of Simon: his touches and kisses, trailing across her skin, the feel of his fangs sinking into the flesh of her neck. She fought to keep her face straight. She had always prized herself on her control over her emotions and she was not going to show these strangers her true feelings.

"Well, no self-respecting Lightwood would ever think good thoughts about a Herondale," Gabriel spat, obviously enjoying the situation playing out in front of him.

"Excuse me, but that self-respecting Lightwood happens to be my, Jace _Herondale_'s, parabatai." Both Jace and Alec drew aside their shirts to reveal the matching _parabatai_ runes on their chests. Gabriel looked ready to vomit. Gideon was shaking with laughter. Will looked disgusted; though, Clary thought, that seemed to be his default expression. She could see the similarities between Jace and Will. They both had the same stubborn sense of sarcasm; it was simultaneously self-deprecating and cocky. They both created masks of indifference and hate to protect themselves, though what Will was protecting himself against, Clary didn't know.

"On the topic of parabatai, I should probably mention that I am Will's parabatai," Jem said.

Alec laughed, "You must have a high tolerance for cynical sarcasm, then, if Will is anything like Jace. Sometimes I feel like I was born to babysit his Herondale ass." The ladies present, including the two servant girls, gasped. Alec blushed, having forgotten that, being in Victorian London, what was defined as a curse was much stricter. Isabelle chuckled slightly at her brother's blunder. The servant girl with wild red hair was laughing too. Out of the corner of her eye Isabelle noticed that Will had cracked a smile. It was the first time she had seen him smile, and she was reminded of a younger Jace. New to the Institute, he never truly smiled or laughed unless Alec said something funny. He was always careful to hide his emotions behind a thick shield of sarcasm and wit.

"A good joke, Master Lightwood," The servant girl laughed, and Clary immediately recognized the heavy Irish accent. She was holding multiple pairs of Gear, the Shadowhunters must have been preparing for a fight then.

Inspired by their laughter, Alec continued, "He has this irrational fear of ducks," Jem's silver eyes widened, but he said nothing. "One time, when we were about 14, he convinced me to feed poultry pies to the ducks in Central Park."

"And they ate it too! The little bastards! Cannibalistic monsters they are!"

"Never trust a duck!" Will and Jace said at the same time. They looked at each other, both trying to out-scowl the other.

"Will and I did the same thing in Hyde Park when we were 15." Jem muttered, almost to himself. He seemed to be drawing parallels between Will and Jace, just like Clary had been doing moments before.

"Anyway," Charlotte said, looking rather distressed, "it seems that you are somehow from the future and simultaneously related to us somehow. While we figure out how to send you home, that is if you wish to be sent home, you are welcome to stay in the Institute."

"They could stay in the Institute even if you hadn't say that," Will muttered, "we can't turn down wayward Shadowhunters."

"Are we forgetting the fact that my father has been turned into a _demon worm_?" Gabriel Lightwood exclaimed. "That is the reason I am here you know!"

, "Lightworm," He laughed, "let me guess, demon pox?" Will shot him a conspiratorial glance and for once they seemed to not be prepared to rip each other's throats out.

"Yes yes, Brigit, the gear." Charlotte seemed flustered. She motioned to the Irish servant.

"Le do thoil, Brigit." Jace said coolly. Brigit looked aghast.

"Labhraíonn tú Gaeilge?" She asked; her eyes alight.

"Is beag. Cheap mo athair sé úsáideach go leor teangacha a labhairt." Jace replied. Brigit smiled and fetched the gear.

"What did you say to her?" Clary whispered to Jace. He just smiled. "I swear Jace Herondale, if she falls in love with you…"

"I do have a thing for redheads," he laughed, ruffling her hair. Clary frowned. She wanted to kiss Jace in front of these Shadowhunters, show them that they were together, and make sure no fancy lady in a pretty dress was going to put the moves on Jace. She knew Jace was utterly enraptured in her, though she couldn't see why, but it never hurt to be careful.

"Ydych chi'n siarad Cymraeg gan unrhyw gyfle?" Cecily asked, stepping towards Jace. Alec saw Gabriel's eyes follow her across the room. Cecily, whether she knew it or not, was already spoken for.

"Fel y dywedais, mae fy nhad eisiau i mi fod yn gallu siarad yr ieithoedd y byd. Oeddech chi'n meddwl mai dim ond oherwydd Cymru'n rhywfaint yn ôl-ali Lloegr, na fyddai angen i mi ddysgu?" Jace shot back, in perfect Welsh. His tone obviously meant that what he had said was dripping with contempt. Will and Cecily both looked affronted.

Jem cleared his throat; he was now dressed in a gear jacket and weapons belt. Brigit stood behind him with four other pairs of gear. When everyone was dressed, the large group of Shadowhunters, except for Charlotte, headed towards the carriages.

Even Tessa, Clary noticed, in her golden wedding dress was accompanying the party. _She can't think she's going to fight_ Clary thought. Isabelle, to her left, seemed to be having the same thought.

Clary, Alec, Jace, Isabelle and Gideon were piled on top of each other in the Lightwood carriage with Gabriel driving. Will, Jem, Tessa, and Cecily were in the Institute's with Henry driving.

_I've never been inside a real carriage before_ Clary thought as she settled into Jace's lap. Gideon glanced their way, a look of confused disgust on his face. She had forgotten that their actions might be the height of impropriety in 1878, but Clary couldn't care less. She was ready and excited, despite the whirlwind of the day's events, to kill a demon. It was something she knew how to do and it brought her a sense of normalcy in a world where nothing was to be normal again.

**AN: So this chapter ended up a bit longer! :) I used Google Translate for the Gaelic and Welsh so they are probably wrong. If you actually speak/read Gaelic or Welsh and would be willing to translate things correctly for me, PLEASE message me. **

**Translations (according to Google Translate)**

**Le do thoil, Brigit: Please, Brigit.**

**Labhraíonn tú Gaeilge?: You speak Gaelic?**

**Is beag. Cheap mo athair sé úsáideach go leor teangacha a labhairt.: A little, my father thought it useful to speak many languages.**

**"****Ydych chi'n siarad Cymraeg gan unrhyw gyfle?": Do you speak Welsh by any chance?**

**"Fel y dywedais, mae fy nhad eisiau i mi fod yn gallu siarad yr ieithoedd y byd. Oeddech chi'n meddwl mai dim ond oherwydd Cymru'n rhywfaint yn ôl-ali Lloegr, na fyddai angen i mi ddysgu? As I said, my father wanted me to be able to speak the languages of the world. Did you think that just because Wales is some back-alley England, I would not be required to learn?**

**I'm trying to do each chapter as either TMI character's thoughts or TID characters. I was thinking of just doing 1 character per section with breaks in the middle (like Cassie does in the books), but I like having, at least in scenes like this where everyone is together, multiple perspectives. Once I get to scenes with just Jace and Gabriel or Will and Alec I'll have it be from one person's perspective the entire time. Hopefully that makes sense.**

**This will also be the last chapter I upload for a while, as I go back to school full time from here on. Hopefully I'll be able to update this more than once a month, but that might not work. Thank you for all your views and reviews. I promise that now that we're out of the ****_set up the plot_**** section of this fic, it will be better. Thanks guys!**


	3. Worm! Worm in the garden!

**Some of the dialogue is lifted straight from Chapter 2 (The Conqueror Worm) of The Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare, mostly because I was too lazy to come up with new dialogue for Tatiana. So basically, all of Tatiana's dialogue is from CP2. I don't own it. I'm also trying to follow the structure of the original chapter, so I'm writing this mostly from Tessa and Will's perspectives. **

As Tessa sat in the carriage, her hand intertwined with Jem's, she thought about their new visitors. Their names were so familiar. They were Lightwoods, Herondales, and Fairchilds. They were family of her friends. They, peculiarly, were also from the future. She wondered if they knew who she was. Magnus, as well as the Silent Brothers, had told her she was immortal. Would these young Shadowhunters know her name or did she vanish from history, a nameless faceless warlock?

Jem, contentedly sitting with Tessa, knew that Will was fighting a war inside himself. Obviously Jace was somehow related to Will, but Will had never intended to marry. Jem, too, was wondering who Jace's ancestors were. Perhaps Will, in a drunken night, had fathered a child? Jem, though he loved Will with all of his soul, saw the pain in Will's eyes when he saw Jem and Tessa together. Jem assumed it was because he couldn't understand Shadowhunter marriage or marriage in general. He was appalled by the amount of love that was required in the intimacy of marriage. After learning of Will's 'curse', Jem supposed he understood why Will resented love. His spending his teenage years deflecting any love that was sent his way made Will skeptical of love in general. Jem hoped that Jace's existence would prove to Will that he was capable of loving, and being loved in return. However, it seemed that Jace and Will were determined to be mortal enemies. Jem supposed that Jace felt some resentment towards his family and was determined to be as unhelpful and sarcastic as possible. Jem would have been inclined to believe that this sarcasm was Jace's natural personality if it hadn't been for Jace's parabatai's reaction. Alec had, upon hearing the name William Herondale, turned positively murderous, as if he was prepared to rip Will's throat out with his teeth. As the carriage continued down the cobblestones to the Lightwood family home, Jem simply thought.

Gideon, in the carriage with the newcomers, was fascinated. After realizing that their actions were inappropriate in Victorian London, Clary had slid off Jace's lap, but kept her head on his shoulder. The love shared between them, Gideon thought, seemed stronger than what would be usual for their age. He assumed that they couldn't be much older than 17. They had obviously been together through hard times. He would have to ask for their story later. Gideon loved love. He remembered his mother's shy glances towards his father and the soft whispers of love they shared when they thought the children were asleep. Gideon used to creep downstairs in the middle of the night to sit outside his parent's bedroom in order to hear them talk about their days. He remembered when his father laughed. Gabriel and Tatiana never truly had that memory; it was a memory Gideon had all to himself. It made him hate his father slightly less. Benedict was still a self-righteous prat, but, Gideon thought, he had lived through experiences that hardened him. A loss of a loved one had one of two effects: it destroyed a person or it strengthened their connection with others they loved.

Gideon looked at Alec, staring determinedly out the carriage window, his hands caressing his bow absentmindedly. Alec had said his full name was Alexander Gideon Lightwood but he looked decidedly like a Herondale. He wondered what Alec and Isabelle's ancestry was. Why were they named after Sophie, assuming that Isabelle's middle name was for the Institute's maid, and himself? Gideon did not seek to disillusion himself. He was madly in love with Sophie Collins. She was simultaneously timid and outgoing. She had the courage of a Shadowhunter but was so determinedly mundane that it made Gideon question everything his father had ever taught him. Gideon wanted to spend every day with her, mundane or not. He wanted more than anything to see Sophie, dark hair shining, standing at an altar in a golden dress with black runes snaking down her arms, waiting for him. He knew he could settle for a white dress and a black suit and a life away from demons and Downworlders, but he wanted to fight monsters on London streets with Sophie next to him. He would wait until Mortmain and his clockwork creatures were firmly dead, but one day, Sophie Collins, should she say yes, would become Sophia Lightwood.

The carriage thundered down the cobblestone streets of London.

As the carriage arrived at his Chiswick home, Gideon could tell something was wrong. The gardens looked as if someone, or something, had run through them. Large gaps in the hedges were visible, even from the road. Gabriel pulled the carriage in front of the house and opened the door for the newcomers.

Jem stepped out of the carriage in time to see Isabelle Lightwood fall out of the Lightwood carriage. He heard Gabriel's accompanying snort of laughter and looked up to see Isabelle glaring daggers at Gabriel, a curse slipping through her teeth. It looked as if the only thing stopping her from slapping Gabriel across the face was Alec's hand on her back.

Clary, red hair burning, jumped out of the carriage, ignoring Gabriel's outstretched hand. Jace, however, with a smirk that could rival Will's, took Gabriel's hand to help him out of the carriage. Clary smacked him upside the head, and the look in Jace's eyes could only be described as adoring love. Alec simply shook his head as if he had already had enough of his _parabatai_.

Henry cleared his throat, "I believe I am going to inspect the inside of the house, see if Benedict left any clues. If you'd like to join me, Isabelle or Clar-"

He was cut off by Clary shaking her head. "I think I'll fight thank you very much."

"Same here," Isabelle said.

Jem bit back a laugh. Henry should have expected as much. Both Clary and Isabelle had the faded silver scars of warriors. He made a mental reminder to ask their new friends what their stories were. He imagined that both Clary and Isabelle had taken out quite a few demons in their own time.

"Tessa?" Henry inquired looking hopeful.

"Where Jem goes, I go," She said simply, in reply. Henry huffed; it looked as if he'd be venturing into the house on his own.

Suddenly a cry of despair came from over the hedges. Jace took off faster than humanly possible with Alec on his tails. The rest of the group followed, turning the corner to see a small girl with brown hair hunched over herself. She was wailing uncontrollably.

"Rupert, my Rupert!" She sobbed. _Tatiana_. The youngest Lightwood child, with her brown hair and green eyes, must have decided to pay a call to her father.

"A great monster," she wept. "A creature—it seized darling Rupert from the carriage and made off with him!"

"What do you mean 'made off with him'?" Will asked, a steadying arm on Tatiana's shoulder. The poor girl looked about to pass out.

She pointed. "Th-there," she sobbed. "It dragged him to the Italian gardens. He managed to elude its maw at first, but it harried him through the paths. No matter how much I screamed, it would not put him d-down!" She sobbed harder.

"You screamed? That's it?" Jace asked. He looked stunned as if he could not comprehend how a Shadowhunter could simply stand by and watch as their spouse was murdered by a demon.

"I screamed a great deal," Tatiana pouted. Both Will and Jace huffed and tore off in the direction of the Italian gardens, their parabatais following quickly behind. Cecily, Tessa, Clary, and Isabelle were left with Tatiana.

"You cannot be other than Will's sister," said Tatiana to Cecily as the boys vanished into the distance. "Are you a Herondale cousin?" She asked Isabelle.

"Something like that," Isabelle muttered. "Are we following the boys or…?"

"We are," Cecily responded. Tessa hitched up her skirts and followed Isabelle and Cecily. Tessa's head was filled with memories from Benedict's demonic party. She flushed at the remembrance of Will's hands on her body and his mouth on hers.

"Tessa!" She heard Clary yell. "You want to see this." Tessa whirled to see Tatiana crumpled into Clary's side muttering softly. Clary pointed to the hedge with the hand that wasn't holding Tatiana. Tessa saw a man's boot protruding from the hedge. At first, Tessa thought that Rupert must be lying on the ground, but as she came closer she realized that the boot, and the few inches of ragged and bloody flesh, was all that was left of poor Rupert.

"I wonder how many fish we could catch with this worm?" Jace mused aloud. Will had to choke back a laugh. He had been thinking the same thing.

"Truly, this is not the time for jokes. This is Gabriel and Gideon's father we're discussing." Jem replied, though he seemed to be fighting back a laugh as well.

"We're not just discussing him. We're chasing him through an ornate sculpture garden because he's turned into a _worm_." Will said.

A scream cut through the night. The boys, Cecily, and Isabelle spun to see what had happened.

Tatiana Blackthorn was leaning into Clary's side screaming. Both Isabelle and Cecily reached for their weapons belts. A great wall of dirt erupted from the ground. The worm had appeared.

The worm itself was a deathly gray color, obviously blind, and reeked of death. Ribbons of flesh hung from its teeth. Cecily ran towards the beast, seraph blade burning.

"Cecily!" Will yelled, following his sister. He leapt towards her, knocking her aside, just as the worm's maw descended. Her blade flew into the hedges.

"Will," Cecily huffed, "that was completely-"

"Stay here," Will shouted, terror and fury warring in his mind. "You're not trained. Just stay where you are." At that moment the worm struck again, Will rolled to miss the giant teeth. Jem's sword-cane plunged into the creature's side, spraying black blood. Out of the corner of his eye, Will could see Tessa, in her ruined golden dress, and Clary dragging Tatiana away from the giant beast. Tessa looked up and met Will's eyes. The world seemed to stop. Despite the serpent ravaging the Italian gardens, all Will wanted to do was gather Tessa in his arms and hold her, protect her until the danger passed. But that was Jem's job. Jem was her fiancé. Not Will.

"Go Tessa, get Tatiana away from here. She's had no training. She'll be killed." Will yelled.

"Thank you Will." Jem sighed. Will felt guilt spread through his body. He had wanted to protect Tessa for his own sake, not Jem's.

Alec yelled for Jace. The great worm had doubled back, rearing his head to strike again. Jace, quick as lightning, pulled a blade from his belt.

As the worm struck, Jace plunged his blade through the underside of the worm's jaw. The worm screamed and turned. Its tail knocked both Jace and Will off their feet, wrapping them tight in its grip.

"Jace! Hold on!" Alec yelled. He had an arrow notched on his bow. "Over here worm!" He screamed at the worm. The monster's head turned towards him. Jem seemed to be in the process of deciding whether or not to throw his sword-cane again.

Alec let the arrow fly. It embedded itself in the creature's jaw. The sound of another arrow, a whistling noise, was heard. It struck the worm. Gabriel and Gideon were pounding through the grass. Gabriel had an arrow notched in his bow and Will realized that Gabriel Lightwood had shot at his father in order to save Will's life. Alec, he knew, felt no worry for Will, his arrow was for Jace, his _parabatai._ The worm's grip loosened and it slithered, faster than Will would have thought possible, towards a Greek temple.

"We have to follow it," Alec said. His black hair was splattered with blood, but his blue eyes, so much like Will's, were shining. Either demon-slaying was his favorite pastime or he was proud of his shot. Will figured that either was possible.

"Isabelle! What are you doing?" Will turned to see Isabelle and Cecily climbing the yew trees by the front hedges. It was hard to identify which girl was which, their black hair swinging.

"Cecily, now is not the time for climbing trees." Cecily turned towards Will as the worm burst out from behind the temple.

Tessa and Clary helped Tatiana back to the carriages. Tatiana seemed delusional, from shock obviously.

"You are dressed as a bride," Tatiana said, turning to Tessa, "Is that not very _odd_? I am sure that gear would suit the task at hand better." Clary rolled her eyes.

A loud crash came from inside the house. _Henry_, Tessa thought. Henry was inside the house. Clary met Tessa's eyes and a moment of understanding passed between the girls. In a heartbeat, Clary took off towards the house.

In a moment of politeness, Tessa turned to Tatiana. "Remain here Mrs. Blackthorn. I must discover the cause of that noise."

"Do not leave me!" Tatiana wailed.

"I am sorry, but I must. Please stay in the carriage." Without another word, Tessa turned and dashed up the steps into the Lightwood house.

"Henry!" She heard Clary calling, "Henry where are you?" Tessa followed her voice up the golden staircase. She felt her dress catch on something and plowed ahead. Looking down, she saw that the entire bottom hem of her dress had torn away. She was now showing her ankles. Tessa remembered Isabelle Lightwood's dress. The loose white fabric easily allowed most of her legs to be seen. In the twenty-first century, morality was either very loosely defined or Isabelle was a prostitute. She'd assumed that the former was more likely, as no heavily-marked Shadowhunter would become a prostitute. Isabelle was a warrior; that was certain.

Tessa continued up the stairs, following Clary's blazing hair. She entered a room to the left of the stairs. It was obviously Benedict's study. Books lined the walls; plush couches were arranged elegantly around a center table. The rest of the room was in disarray. The ornate mahogany desk had been overturned, papers littered the floor.

Henry was crouched by the papers, scuffling through the pages looking for anything useful. Clary stood in front of a wall that seemed to be covered in mold. As Clary brought up a witchlight, the illumination allowed Tessa to see that the wall was actually dripping blackish blood.

Cecily turned towards Will as the worm burst out from behind the temple. She screamed, but held on to her tree. Isabelle Lightwood turned to Cecily and together the girls composed themselves and brought out their blades. Isabelle held a glowing seraph blade while Cecily held a runed blade. Together the girls, with their twin black hair, dove atop the creature. The worm let loose a cry and turned its head to bite the intruders. Both Cecily and Isabelle swung themselves off the worm's back just as its head tore through the space they had just been.

The worm's head emerged; its teeth carrying its own flesh. Alec and Gabriel raised their bows and fired. With a final cry, the worm died; its slimy body dissolving into dust as its essence returned to the demon realms.

Cecily turned to Isabelle with a smile. The black-eyed girl returned the smile and clapped Cecily on the back. Cecily looked away from Isabelle to see her brother tearing towards her.

"Cecily!" Will shouted, running his hands over her shoulders. "What were you thinking? You could have been killed!"

"But I was not, William. Oh stop tha-"Will had been applying an iratze to the side of his sister's neck when he heard he heard coughing behind him. Turning he saw Jem crouched on the ground, Alec, oddly calm, holding Jem's shoulders as he shook. Jem was trying to shield Alec from the blood he was coughing up but Alec simply wiped away the blood from Jem's mouth and continued to hold him. Will had never seen anyone care for Jem like this, save himself and Charlotte. Even Henry would keep his distance during one of Jem's episodes, not out of lack of love, but simply because Henry felt he wasn't helpful.

Will ran towards his _parabatai_, silently thanking Alec with every fiber of his being. Dropping to his knees he ran his hands over Jem, making sure his _parabatai_ was alive.

Tessa and Clary had appeared in the garden. Tessa noticed that Gabriel was holding on to Cecily's shoulders, a stele in hand. She smiled, they would be good together. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jace holding Clary, tucking her hair behind her ears and running his hands over her face. The love in his eyes was reflected in her own. They were drinking in the sight of each other. Then she saw Jem, crouched on the ground, blood soaking his clothes, two black haired boys holding him. Her world stopped. _Jem_.

**Thanks for reading! This one is much longer, almost 3000 words! Thank you for all your comments, kudos, bookmarks, and favorites! I am hoping to update as often as possible, but that seems to be a very hard task.**

**Please leave comments and subscribe!**

**~Natalie**


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